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The Impact of Cognitive-Motor Interference on Balance Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Award Number: F31HD115419
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/01/2024
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2027

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The Impact of Cognitive-Motor Interference on Balance Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy - PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Cerebral palsy (CP), the most common cause of childhood disability, results from a non-progressive disturbance to the developing brain and leads to impairments which negatively impact mobility and function. Individuals with CP demonstrate abnormal reactions to anticipated (proactive) and unanticipated (reactive) balance challenges, placing them at increased risk of falls. Adults with CP are 3.64x more likely to fall than their typically developing peers, and the incidence of falls in children with CP is similarly increased. Balance control is worsened with the addition of a secondary (dual) cognitive task. This causes cognitive-motor interference, which results when motor and cognitive tasks are competing for the same resources and leads to degradation in performance of one or both tasks. These cognitive-motor tasks mimic daily life situations such as walking and talking with friends, and the difficulty that children with CP experience in these situations leads to declines in participation and function. Previous work has investigated this cognitive-motor dual task paradigm; however, all studies have utilized proactive balance challenges, with the primary motor tasks of balance or straight path ambulation. Evaluation of a more functional proactive balance task, such as obstacle negotiation, is needed in the context of a cognitive-motor dual task situation. Additionally, previous studies have shown that children with CP fall more and have decreased stability during single task reactive balance challenges; however, this single task condition requires the addition of a secondary task to become functionally relevant and mimic daily life scenarios. Our specific aims will address these mechanistic and participatory gaps in the literature by investigating: (1) proactive balance control through negotiation of an overground obstacle in single and dual task conditions, in children with CP compared to TDC; (2) reactive balance control through stance slip-like treadmill induced perturbations in single and dual task, in children with CP compared to TDC; and (3) the correlation between balance control and participation in mobility-related habits of daily life in children with CP utilizing the LIFE-H, linking the biomechanical and mechanistic laboratory findings (Aims 1 +2) to participation and quality of life (Aim 3) for children with CP. We hypothesize that children with CP will demonstrate decreased stability and greater falls in both single and dual task conditions when compared to TDC, and that both groups will experience these declines in performance, when compared to themselves, in dual task conditions. The results from this study will be integral in establishing the mechanisms underlying balance control during functional proactive and reactive balance challenges, and how this stability correlates with overall mobility-based participation for children with CP. This will provide valuable insights for developing effective clinical interventions and improving the quality of life and participation of children with CP. The findings will contribute to the design of future research paradigms and facilitate the translation of intervention strategies into clinical practice.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $50,114 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS	809 S MARSHFIELD AVE M/C 551	CHICAGO	IL	60612	COOK	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	3	3/31/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$50,114
														Subtotal = $50,114

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $49,538 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS	809 S MARSHFIELD AVE M/C 551	CHICAGO	IL	60612	COOK	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	001	2	7/24/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$564
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS	809 S MARSHFIELD AVE M/C 551	CHICAGO	IL	60612	COOK	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	2	4/8/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$48,974
														Subtotal = $49,538

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $48,974 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS	809 S MARSHFIELD AVE M/C 551	CHICAGO	IL	60612	COOK	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	002	1	5/2/2024	NEW	$1,280
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS	809 S MARSHFIELD AVE M/C 551	CHICAGO	IL	60612	COOK	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	001	1	3/15/2024	NEW	$0
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS	809 S MARSHFIELD AVE M/C 551	CHICAGO	IL	60612	COOK	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	3/15/2024	NEW	$47,694
														Subtotal = $48,974

Grand Total All Awards = $148,626

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The Impact of Cognitive-Motor Interference on Balance Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Award Number: F31HD115419

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/01/2024

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2027

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